Ginny Weasley and the Professor
by hpkiwi
Summary: A two-part fic detailing two moments during PoA when Ginny and Lupin crossed paths. Firstly: on the train with the Dementor. Secondly, after Lupin has resigned as DADA Professor. Although Harry doesn't get much time directly, he is mentioned a lot, so he's given billing too.
1. Ginny, Moony and the Dementor

_**Part 1: Ginny, Moony and the Dementor** Okay then, first up, I seem to be having a Ginny renaissance after writing so much on the Trio. Also time to throw in one of the Marauders into my writing. A couple of things. First off, this chapter is capable of being a standalone oneshot, but I also am planing a second chapter at the end of the year after Lupin resigns. Here, Ginny suffers from the presence of the_ _Dementor on the Hogwarts Express, and finds that the new DADA teacher is no bumbling Gilderoy Lockhart. She also receives an unwelcome message: Harry is fallible, just like everyone else. Also making an appearance in this chapter: Colin Creevey and Luna Lovegood- hope you enjoy my characterisations of them._

The wind pounded the exterior of the now-slowing Hogwarts Express, rattling the carriages violently. As another deafening shriek from the wind interrupted Colin Creevey's excited jabbering with Ginny, the lanterns in the carriage flickered into life. Luna Lovegood looked up with a start and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Much better," she smiled. "It's somewhat easier now to read about the Heliopath Attack on Aberdeen that Daddy was investigating…" Ginny caught Colin's eye and exchanged a slight grin. Ginny had never gotten to know Luna properly, what with the events of last year, but the train journey here so far had forced her to reconsider her opinion of the eccentric Ravenclaw. The girl was compassionate, surprisingly blunt with the truth, and surprisingly insightful.

Of course, there was also her bizarre beliefs in the existence of Heliopaths, Nargles, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Merlin knew what else. There was also her latest fashion accessory: the butterbeer cork necklace, although Luna had reassured Ginny it was solely to drive away Nargles. Not to mention the radishes…

Then again, it would be somewhat hypocritical to judge Luna when Ginny herself had trusted the words of a teenage sociopath with no conscience. As an amusing thought crossed her mind, she chuckled internally. She and Tom Riddle had one thing in common: a really unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. However, thinking about that simply brought back memories of the slimy pipes, the venomous hissing in her ears, and the horrified expression on each of her victims….

She shivered and plucked up the courage to ask Luna a vital question. Colin had readily demonstrated his willingness to forgive and forget, but was Luna really prepared to be in the same carriage as the girl who had spent an entire year possessed by the most evil wizard on the planet?

"Anything on last year there Luna?" she asked her friend, now reading the latest edition of _The Quibbler_ upside-down.

"No," Luna replied, still reading the magazine upside-down. "That was the previous edition. Daddy didn't mention you by name, but he ran it all. Lucius Malfoy was named, and he also decided to run a full feature on Riddle and his framing of Hagrid." Ginny looked at her, agape, while relief flooded through her. She now had a new-found affection for the magazine Luna was now reading.

"How did you…."

"Penelope Clearwater. She told us everything she knew from Hermione Granger. As I understand it, she's now Head Girl."

"She's also now my brother's girlfriend," Ginny groaned, stretching her arms and yawning. "It's all been about his _darling Penny_ all freaking summer." Colin stifled a giggle, and she stared him down, hawk-like. Finally, Colin was able to manufacture a façade of seriousness.

"Well, Ginny," he began all too innocently and without guile. "Aren't you being a tad hypocritical?" Ginny felt her face flush redder than her hair. She was _not_ , under any circumstances, discussing her crush on Harry Potter. Especially given she could barely speak a word beyond "Hello," to him. Not to mention that ever since last May, it had only strengthened….

Luna closed the magazine with a snap, and stared reproachfully at Colin. "It's not nice to tease people over who they fancy," she said calmly but sternly to the mousy-haired boy sitting to Ginny's right. Ginny's face only went redder, while Colin appeared at a loss for words. She had to take the conversation out of this decidedly dangerous territory. Any rubbish question would do: this was an emergency.

"Why do you read upside-down Luna? I've never seen you read the magazine right-way up." Luna turned her head to stare at Ginny, eyebrows raised, and Ginny instantly felt a small stab of guilt over her bluntness.

"Oh, it was my mum's outlook on life. You get a whole new perspective on life when you view it from a different viewpoint. Just like you, for example. Last year, I always felt a spike in the number of evil Wrackspurts in your presence, and came to the conclusion they were part of you. Now they're gone."

"You….you sure?" Ginny spluttered.

Luna smiled serenely. "Oh yes, Ginny. You can be possessed by evil, but it doesn't make you evil." Ginny smiled back, somehow knowing that she'd sealed her first secure friendship since patching things up with Colin. All progress from the damage inflicted by Tom. Then her other friend decided to speak up.

"Hey Luna? I was thinking….do you want me to take your photo?" Ginny rolled her eyes, but Luna instead beamed at the offer.

"Why not?" she smiled. "I've never had my picture taken before. My parents always thought cameras brought bad luck, but they were wrong. Diaries on the other hand…." Ginny didn't know whether Luna was joking or being serious, so she shrugged at Colin as he pulled out his camera, and focused the lens on Luna. A bright flash illuminated the carriage from the clearly Muggle camera- by the looks of it a newer, flashier marque than his wrecked one. "Nice camera," she grinned.

""I know," Colin replied enthusiastically. "Funnily enough though, we never got insurance for the other one."

"Yeah, because Muggles are totally going to pay up if you just explain that a giant snake's gaze fried it…."

"Hang on, shouldn't I be getting payment from you?" Colin laughed back. He was the only one Ginny could have a laugh with over the Chamber business- and it had been excellent therapy on the ride home.

"I told you, take it up with the Basilisk. Or Tom. But no court would accept a rotting snake corpse or a ruined diary as defendants…."

"Fine. I'll consider half-a-dozen Chocolate Frogs a fair payment for the camera. Deal?"

"Deal," Ginny chuckled. "She turned to Luna. "Changing the topic; are _The Quibbler_ publishing details on Sirius Black's escape?" Luna shook her head.

"No, we're leaving that to _The Prophet_. But we do have an article on Stubby Boardman…."

Without warning, Ginny was flung into Luna's lap as the train suddenly applied full brakes. She swore as Colin looked out the window.

"We're coming around the Viaduct," he explained. "I think I can see Hogwarts." At that, he aimed his lens at the distant, rain-wrapped silhouette of the castle. But that didn't explain the sudden braking…

"This can't be right," Ginny muttered as she gingerly got back to her seat. For some unknown reason, a tiny worm of fear had begun to wriggle in her stomach. After a few seconds, Colin withdrew from the window as the train came to a complete stop. Loud thuds and muffled squeals echoed from neighbouring compartments, indicating luggage had fallen off the racks and hit students.

"Blimey," he muttered. "There's now a curtain of rain coming down- can't even see the Lake." Luna continued reading, while Ginny looked out the left-hand window. The green of the hills nearby were now indistinct, hidden behind a miniature waterfall of rain pouring over the glass. As she watched, heavier raindrops began hitting the window, exploding and freezing into dozens of tiny ice crystals. Within seconds, the window had become all but opaque, as she began to feel the compartment itself begin to cool down. Then, all lighting was extinguished. Luna looked up and put away her magazine, while whistling the Hogwarts Song. Colin and Ginny exasperated glances, the latter shrugging as she picked herself up, sliding open the door.

"I have the feeling we may be here for a while," she told her two companions. "I'll just check on Ron's compartment." Colin nodded, pulling on a fur coat that looked several sizes too big for him and shivering. With a nod, Ginny began to walk at a brisk pace, feeling Goosebumps erupt on her arms. This was _September_. What was with this rotten weather?

As she passed from the front carriage to the second, Ginny stopped. Through the gap in the carriages, and above the sleet that was now hitting the train, she heard it.

A long, hoarse, rattling breath.

Ginny felt all the oxygen rush out of her lungs with a gasp. Whatever had made that sound was bad news. She gave a glance out the window. It was completely iced over, but she could see the black silhouette of something flapping in the wind next to the window. Cloaked Aurors? Or was it the lakeside reeds? Even as the train rocked ever more violently, the wind's roar was dying down. Ginny felt as if earplugs had been slapped over her ears, deadening any sound. Was it happening to her again? And what had made _that_ sound?

There it was again.

Instantly, a panicked, ridiculous thought crossed her mind: get to Harry's compartment. He or Hermione would know what was happening.

She began to run, skimming any compartment for a sign of bushy hair- or dark, messy hair…. Compartment J, Compartment K, they had to be here somewhere, she thought, stumbling in the gloom that was darkening every second. Ahead of her, she heard hissing and a yelp of pain that could only be Neville's. Good….at least there was someone familiar down this end of the train. And if there was hissing, that meant another occupant of the carriage was…

"I'm going to ask the driver what's going on." Ginny's heart leapt. _Hermione_. Deliriously relieved, she rushed towards the sound of the door sliding open, only to collide with someone else coming out of it. With her speed, the other person was knocked over, while Ginny also fell with a thud.

Both she and the other student emitted squeaks of pain.

Panting as she pulled herself up, Ginny stared as the other person also picked themselves up. The squeal did sound familiar.

"Ginny?" came Hermione's voice.

"Hermione?" she replied, massaging her thigh.

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron-"

"Come in and sit down-"

Ginny stumbled into the compartment, sitting down at the first opportunity. But then….

"Not here!" came Harry's frantic voice. "I'm here!" Ginny shot back up again as if burned. _Of_ _course_ karma being karma, _she'd_ be the one sitting on Harry Sodding Potter of all people. But her bumbling wasn't over yet, even as her cheeks began to thaw out slightly.

"Ouch!" cried Neville.

"Quiet!" a hoarse, authoritative voice from somewhere in the dark ordered. Ginny couldn't put her finger on it, but the voice sounded reassuring to her, for some reason. A soft, crackling noise came from her right as the owner of that voice produced a series of weak, shivering flames. It lit up the face of a man, probably in his mid-thirties. His face was heavily lined and his hair unhealthily grey, but his eyes were alert and wary. Probably the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, she realized.

"Stay where you are," he ordered the compartment at large, but he gave Ginny a slight smile of reassurance. This was a man who seemed to know his craft. He got to his feet slowly, eyeing the corridor outside while holding the flames in front of him.

But before he could reach it, the door swung open.

Standing in the doorway, robes flapping in its own shimmering wake of chilled air, was a hooded figure whose head almost touched the now-brittle ceiling. No face was visible beneath its hood, no arms, no legs. Just this hooded creature and its ominous presence, which simply reeked of evil. Beside Ginny, Neville gave a muffled whimper of fright, and she placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him, determined to not show weakness herself in front of this menacing creature. Neville's tension appeared to ease slightly with the contact, his teeth chattering and his eyes wide. Then she spotted what Neville had, and her stomach turned over.

A scabbed, slimy hand protruded slowly from the folds of the fabric as the creature appeared to consider first of all Neville, then her, slowly turning its hooded face. Unbidden, images of the diary, the bloody messages, and of the fully-formed Tom Riddle all rushed to the front of her mind. Her tough façade had slipped, and she once again felt infested, possessed and unclean.

Out of the corner of her left eye, she saw Harry aim his gaze downwards and gulp at the sight of the decayed hand, eerily illuminated by the Professor's flames. The creature, apparently sensing Harry's gaze beneath its hood, slowly turned towards him and let out a hoarse, rattling breath that appeared to suck all the oxygen out of the cabin.

Ginny's eyes began to water, and she felt her chest constrict as a new wave of cold swept over the compartment. She could no longer see Harry, Ron or Hermione, and Neville was an indistinct blur beside her. The yellow streaks of the shivering flames turned to eerie green, and their crackling turned to the rasping of scales on stone.

Then, she heard a venomous voice speak beside her, chanting for blood, and she began to shudder violently. Valiantly struggling to remain conscious, Ginny tried to brush away the fog that had penetrated her vision, but her arms had become lead weights, useless for anything but a few lazy strokes. She had to remain conscious, or who was she going to attack next? Even as she watched Ron regarding her while wearing the sort of expression that he typically reserved for spiders, she heard the sickening contact of Petrified flesh hitting stone on the Seventh Floor.

 _Kill the Mudblood_. Tom was back again, laughing at her, taunting her for setting the Basilisk on Hermione and Penelope. She saw movement to her right, and she saw the hooded creature slowly hover towards Harry, inch by inch. Desperately struggling to find circulation in her feet, eyes now streaming, she attempted to stand. But then Tom spoke again, just as the creature drew another hoarse breath.

 _Don't you dare, you silly girl._

Like the flick of a switch, her vision was gone, and she was back in the Chamber of Secrets, facing Tom Riddle's gauntly handsome features as he stared mockingly at her dying form.

" _Did your Blood Traitor father never tell you to not trust strangers? Or to never trust anything that doesn't show where it keeps its brain? Pity, you could still have lived."_

Even as she heard Ron whimper "Ginny? Hermione?" with a genuine bite of fear in his voice, Ginny heard herself ask Tom the question that had been bugging her all year. Why her?

"" _I don't know how I came to be in your possession, Ginny. I'm just a diary after all….Goodbye….It was nice writing to you."_

At that, the Chamber began to spin again, just like it had originally, but instead, the compartment was coming back into view as beyond her horror and fear, she felt a surge of anger at what Tom had done, and she also began to remember other things….Harry had rescued her with Fawkes and Ron,…and wasn't it Luna who just minutes beforehand had said that being possessed by evil didn't make her evil? She had survived this, being possessed by Voldemort. She had _friends_.

Just then, Harry began to be wracked with spasms. From what little Ginny had seen of him during the last minute, he'd been suspiciously rigid and pale. Now, with a great jerk, his body heaved itself off his set, and he fell to the ground, foetus-like and twitching as though being tortured. Beside her, Neville was whispering something that sounded vaguely like "Mum? Dad? Stop it, make them stop it…", but he at least looked conscious. Hermione was looking paler than ever; Crookshanks hopped off her trembling lap and retreated to the far corner of the compartment, where he hissed angrily at the intruder. Scabbers was nowhere to be seen, but he was squealing loudly from beneath the terrified Ron's jacket. The hooded creature drew another breath, this one a long-drawn-out death rattle as it began to glide towards its chosen victim— Harry Potter. Its revolting arms extended outwards from its cloak, reaching for Harry as though it was trying to embrace him. She heard another cackle of laughter from Tom.

For the Professor, it seemed that enough was enough. He stepped over Harry's body and pulled out his wand in a swift flourish, aiming it at the hideous apparition. He spoke to it, cold anger lashing every syllable. "None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go." The creature didn't move one inch. Instead, it appeared to defiantly stare at its challenger directly in the face, letting out another one of those horrible rattling breaths.

With a sigh, the man muttered an incantation that was drowned out by the creature's rattle, and he aimed his wand at where its heart should have been.

A silvery shield of light bloomed magnificently from the wand, morphing into a four-legged creature that to Ginny looked like an oversize dog, before it charged their enemy, hitting it in the chest. Radiant light filled the cabin, pulsating in waves from the animal's chest as Ginny felt the same energy and uplifting of spirit that accompanied Phoenix song. For a split-second, the creature was framed in the door, struggling in vain against the energy aimed at it. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone, and the glowing animal slowly evaporated into thin air.

With a satisfied smile, the Professor stowed his wand, bent over the now-still Harry to check his pulse, then nodding, straightened up. He approached Neville and Ginny, both still frozen to their seats with shock, fear and amazement.

"How do you do?" he said politely, offering his hand to both of them. "I'm Remus John Lupin, your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. You both okay? We should be moving again very soon, so you'll be up at the Castle eating dinner in no time."

Even the thought of hot dinner couldn't snap Ginny out of her funk. She felt as though she'd been involved in a car crash. Her head was spinning, her chest felt heavy, and she had to take multiple heaving gasps to steady herself.

"It's all right," reassured Professor Lupin calmly. "Exposure to one of those things for the first time is always nasty." He then proceeded to sit down beside the far window, eyeing Harry with concern- and, it seemed to Ginny, recognition. The first slight surge of anger began to pump through Ginny's veins. Of course he'd recognise Harry Potter. Him and his scar- couldn't they see the thoroughly decent and brave thirteen year old underneath it all? Ever since she'd been plucked from the Chamber, she'd barely even glanced at it, knowing that his scar was a physical manifestation of the time Tom Riddle not only hunted him down as well, but also stripped his family from him. It wasn't a badge of honour, but a mark of evil. Unbidden, silent tears began to fall.

She made eye-contact with Hermione, who was looking at her with sympathy. "You…you relived it again, didn't you? The Chamber?" Ginny nodded. Hermione apparently understood her condition….presumably because she and everyone else had had it happen to them…relive their worst experiences. Squinting closer at her friend's pale face, she noted the traces of tear tracks. "How about you then?" she croaked, struggling to maintain composure.

To her surprise, Hermione let out a dark chuckle. "Well, until two Halloweens ago, in fact, I wasn't exactly the number one socialite with lots of friends…in fact, I'm still not. But primary school was the worst."

Nodding in understanding, Ginny turned to Ron, who was muttering without looking at her. "Spiders, ruddy, horse-sized monsters, they were." At that, she sworn she could have seen Hermione's arm twitch very slightly at that, as if she was resisting hugging her dopey brother. But why though? Oh yes, she now remembered the likely motivating factor as to why Ron and Harry had visited Aragog's cave, and it was all her fault, too….

"Hey Ginny," Neville's voice whispered from beside her. Turning, she saw him glance nervously around the compartment, as though about to commit wrongdoing. Professor Lupin appeared to be putting on an air of nonchalance and disinterest in the muffled conversations between her and Neville, as well as Ron and Hermione, who were now exchanging glances at Harry and whispering frantically. She heard snatches of "his parents, you think?" and "You-Know-Who?" Meanwhile, she noted the windows had begun to thaw with the creature's absence.

"Yeah, Nev?" she replied, leaning closer to hear whatever he was going to say. He took another nervous glance around the cabin, then leant over to whisper in her ear.

"I heard again…flashes of…..childhood. When I was one…. The most horrible sounds."

Ginny nodded slowly, ignoring her tears still silently falling. Neville needed her assistance, and she couldn't do that if she was broken and weeping over the Chamber, or over the unconscious Harry. She gestured for Neville to continue, who looked more frightened than ever.

"I've never told anyone about it. But what happened was…"

Just then, a groan came from Harry. Ginny snapped her attention away from Neville to look over at the stirring form lying in front of her feet as the train let out a violent shudder accompanying engine reignition. Quick as a flash, Hermione rocketed out of her seat, leaning beside Harry and placing her hands on his shoulder and his chest as he lazily moved his arms, blinking slightly. Ginny winced as she began slapping his face. The lights flickered on, and the train slowly began to move again.

"Harry…..wake up….stay with me. Say something! Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"

After a particularly painful slap, Ginny winced as Ron slid over a seat and crouched beside Hermione, also examining Harry. In the light, he looked deathly pale. He'd clearly had it worse than even Ginny, and that was no mean feat. However, the uninvited image of Harry, her saviour, lying still and cold filled her with horror and she sat back, wrapping herself in her own misery as Harry got up unsteadily. She barely resisted throwing her arms around him….but that wouldn't do. She was a Second-Year Gryffindor, not some lovesick shrieking violet out of one of her dorm mates' trashy romance novels.

The next minute or two passed in a daze as she heard Harry nervously enquire as to who screamed, and a perplexed Ron and Hermione did their best to explain that none of them had heard any screaming. A loud snap made her jump and look over at Professor Lupin, who had just broken an enormous slab of what looked like Honeydukes chocolate into smaller pieces. Fred and George had smuggled some back for her two Christmases ago, and it was divine.

"Here," he smiled at Harry, offering him the first and largest piece. "Eat it. It'll help." Harry took the chocolate, but didn't eat it, instead enquiring what had entered their compartment and attacked him.

"It was a Dementor," Lupin explained. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban." Ginny felt sick as she remembered her dad returning from an Azkaban trip, white and shaking. So that was the identity of that horrible creature. Unrestrained, they could be incredibly dangerous….

Lupin crumpled up the Honeydukes wrapping and put it in his pocket. "Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…." At that, he got up, pulled open the door, and stepped outside into the chilly corridor.

Ginny tried to block out the conversation Harry was having with Ron and Hermione, who were explaining the sequence of events, and that Professor Lupin had stopped the attacking Dementor from harming him any further. Thank goodness Lupin had been there…otherwise….

Otherwise, she'd have felt even more vulnerable in the future without Harry's protection, and her grief over it all would have only been a secondary concern if Tom Riddle ever reappeared in her life again. How were any of them supposed to face up to him, without The Boy Who Lived? She heard Ron confess that he felt like he'd never be cheerful again. Just at that moment, the sob she'd been attempting to stifle and bury burst out of her chest and the tears began to fall more freely. Hermione picked herself up, sat on Ginny's left, and put an arm around her, all the while tracing circles on her back in a way that was reminiscent of her mum. But Hermione surely only knew half of the reason behind her anguish.

Ginny took a glance at Harry again, and he looked feverish and demoralised. She wanted to tell him that given his past, collapsing in front of a Dementor was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, but she was incapable of stringing any words together. So instead, she laid back, shut her eyes and let Hermione comfort her, reminding her that the Chamber was history, and none of it was her fault.

The waterworks had thankfully stopped, and Hermione had returned to her seat, when Professor Lupin reappeared. He took an amused glance at the compartment's occupants, none of whom had consumed their chocolate. "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know," he said with a wry smile.

Now she remembered her uneaten chocolate, Ginny wolfed it down, and felt virtually all of her fears and self-doubts vanish. The Dementor was gone, Harry was recovering, and a whole clean new slate of a year awaited her at Hogwarts. She could prove to everyone that she wouldn't let her past drag her down, and she could show everyone the _real_ her. She looked out the window to her left. The sleet had given way to heavy rain, and the ice had now vanished. She looked over to see Harry wolf down his own chocolate, and smile with gratitude at Lupin.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," Lupin announced. He then peered at Harry's face. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry looked down, his cheeks reddening slightly from the attention. "Fine," he managed to mutter.

Lupin smiled, and took his seat between her and Neville. Always one who acted on impulse, Ginny leaned forward to say something to him. She was so grateful that a competent, skilled Defence teacher was here for this year, she had to say something.

"Thank you Professor," she managed earnestly but awkwardly. Lupin turned to smile at her, the lines on his face far more clearly visible. "Why, thank you for that, Miss ….?"

"Weasley. Ginny Weasley."

"Another Weasley, eh?" Lupin chuckled. "All I was doing was my job. Nothing more."

"I know," she responded, smiling properly for the first time in ages. She leaned forward and dropped her voice. "I also meant for helping…" For some bizarre reason, she was unable to whisper 'Harry,' and realised how foolish she must look. However, Lupin didn't say anything, only a slight upwards twitch of his lips giving him away. She felt more emboldened. "For helping Harry, I mean. Gave us all a right good scare, and I mean," she grinned. "The world does sort of need Harry Potter around, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely," Lupin chuckled. He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you Ginny, and I have no doubt with energy like that, you'll be leading my Second Years in Defence." Ginny gave another grin as Lupin gave her a pat on the shoulder and moved over to speak to the still-nervous Neville. Within a couple of minutes, the round-faced Gryffindor was happily engaged in conversation with Lupin over the history of his pet toad, Trevor. So, they had a Defence teacher who was skilled, good with students, and who had diffused a dangerous situation in this compartment just minutes beforehand, thank Merlin. This year was going to be exponentially better than the last.

She felt even more relieved when the colour began to return to Harry's face. The boy who was now biting into his chocolate with gusto was the same boy who had, with the help of Ron and Hermione, found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, then slayed the Basilisk and stopped Tom singlehandedly.

However, for the first time, she'd seen a new dimension to Harry: vulnerability.

And that, more than anything else she'd experienced during this train journey, had terrified her.


	2. Moony's last morning

Moony's last morning at Hogwarts

 _The inspiration for this segment- and the plot bunny for this story, really- was a post by Tumblr user Feministsirius that went viral on Facebook's many HP fan pages in early October. If that poster ever comes to this site, I say thanks for your post._

 _Enjoy! There will be lots of stubborn!Ginny, Lupin being his caring and awesome self, Marauders info, etc., in this final part._

June 10, 1994.

Ginny woke to find the summer Sun bathing the Second Year Gryffindor girls' dormitory in a golden glow. She looked over to find all of her companions' beds empty. Hardly a surprise, as she had never been a morning person. Yawning, she pulled on her robes, and began traipsing down the stairs. In the Gryffindor Common Room, she noticed a small group of Gryffindors that hadn't yet gone down to breakfast and were still animatedly discussing something. Her stomach turned over as she began hearing individual snippets of the conversation.

"Potter, and Granger…"

"Haven't seen Weasley here, either, so he'll be in the Hospital Wing too…"

"Sirius Black…..he was so close to getting them all killed…."

"Then a swarm of a hundred Dementors attacked them all, Dumbledore's apparently insisting they go after the latest incident…"

"Hey, Ginny." Parvati Patil's voice interrupted the worried fog in Ginny's mind. Sighing heavily, she approached the couch by the fire where the older girl, plus her friend Lavender, as well as Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas, were all sitting, also animatedly discussing whatever drama had taken place before she'd gotten up. "Yes?" she asked, unable to keep the defensive bite from creeping into her voice.

"So, tell us what your brother and the other two were up to last night," Lavender pleaded.

"Sorry?" Ginny replied, nonplussed. "I only just got up- what are you talking about? And what's with this encounter with the three of them and Sirius Black?" Parvati nodded at Neville, who began the story.

"McGonagall came in here about thirty minutes ago- she told us that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in the Hospital- they're fine though," he hastily added as Ginny opened her mouth, "…but it was a narrow-run thing. Apparently, they'd decided to visit Hagrid before Buckbeak was executed…."

Ginny rolled her eyes, but inwardly, she had to smile at their dedication to Hagrid. "Of course they did," she sighed exasperatedly, "but when did Black come into this?" Dean then leaned forwards.

"Well, details are murky, but Black apparently spotted Harry, then attacked and kidnapped Ron to lure him and Hermione out of the grounds. I guess Harry should've then alerted Dumbledore, but he decided to rush after them…"

"Of course he would," Ginny smiled slightly, remembering with affection how the same boy had taken the exact same action when she was kidnapped a year earlier. However, her poorly-disguised dreamy look had been spotted, judging from Seamus' and Parvati's knowing smirks. Blushing slightly, she snapped out of her reverie to give Seamus a filthy look. "Continue, Dean."

"Anyway, Snape and Lupin found them soon enough, Black made the three of them attack Snape, and Lupin then disarmed Black and arrested him. Then the details are murky….Black then knocked your brother out- he should be out of Hospital by midday- and escaped. For some reason, both Harry and Hermione ran after Black, then they were attacked by a swarm of Dementors down by the Lake. Snape arrived to find them and Black all unconscious, but Black escaped _again_ just hours later. By now, he's probably in the Canary Islands, if he's gotten any brains."

"But then again," Seamus added, "Black's not the only one to escape. Did you hear about Buckbeak?"

"The Hippogriff?" Ginny queried. "The one that attacked Malfoy?"

"The one and only. He's escaped too. I bet you ten butterbeers that Malfoy will be fuming." Seamus was making no attempt to hide his glee.

"Sounds good," Ginny replied, feeling considerably heartened by the news that the Hippogriff had escaped execution. "I'll head down to breakfast."

Sure enough, she arrived at breakfast in the Great Hall to find Draco Malfoy sulking at the far end of the Slytherin table, while many other students clad in emerald green were gleefully whispering amongst themselves.

Ginny plonked herself down at the middle of the table with her buttered toast with marmalade. Turning to her seatmate, she asked "What the _devil_ are the Slytherins so happy about?"

Colin jumped, then turned towards her, face white. "You weren't here when Dumbledore spoke five minutes ago? Lupin's resigning."

"Why? What good would that do?"

Colin grimaced. "Turns out that right when McGonagall was telling us about the drama involving Black, Harry and his friends, Snape revealed to the Slytherins he was attacked by a Werewolf. That Werewolf is no-one other than Professor Lupin."

"What?"

"I know, right? Apparently that's why he's been sick every other fortnight. Anyway, it seems that Dumbledore told Fudge- who was here last night too- that Lupin simply forgot to take his potion, transformed, and let Black escape. That's why he's resigned; he let Black escape, and almost got Harry killed. He's packing right now."

At that, Ginny shot out of her seat. Colin looked at her, mouth agape.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to get my exam results back," she quickly lied.

"But Lupin said he'd be owling them to us first week of the holidays!" Colin objected. Ginny's jaw clenched. She'd made a decision, and that was final.

"Don't care, I'm seeing him now." And she rushed off, abandoning her toast.

Ginny arrived outside Lupin's office. Not even pausing to knock, she barged through, to find much of Lupin's belongings already packed. There was no sign of the Grindylow in its tank, the Hinkypunks, Red Caps, or any other of the fascinating Dark creatures that Lupin had all educated them on. Instead, all that remained was a bookshelf, a handful of shabby waistcoats, a few empty tanks, and Professor Lupin himself, back turned to her as he rummaged through filed paperwork. Finally nodding to himself, he turned to Ginny.

"Morning, Ginny," he greeted in a welcoming tone. "I have to say I'm unsurprised that you're here." He approached his desk and separated a crumpled piece of parchment from the neatly-ordered essays underneath. "I saw you on this." He gestured towards the parchment, displaying a detailed map of Hogwarts. Sure enough, beside a dot marked 'Remus Lupin,' there was a dot titled 'Ginevra Weasley.' In a flash, Ginny realized she'd seen Fred and George with that very same piece of parchment last year when they were planning something mischievous around the school. She could ask about the map later, though. There were things of a higher priority in her mind.

"Take a seat," Lupin smiled. "Given you're here, and given I'm no longer your teacher, I might as well hand your last essay back to you. Fantastic work, by the way, including in the practical work. Best in your year."

Two years ago, Ginny would have jumped with joy at the thought of receiving such high grades. However, she reflected sadly, she was no longer the same girl, and instead continued to look morose.

"That's not what I came for, Professor," she said quietly, and gravely, in a tone that sounded foreign to her. Lupin looked up, blinking in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked evenly, although Ginny noticed the tautness in his face- for the first time, she noticed deep scars crisscrossing his cheeks and forehead. In this light, he looked more ill than ever. In fact, Ginny could have sworn he looked fearful, almost childlike, in that instant.

"I mean," she continued. "Why are you resigning, after all you've done?" Shoving her essay towards her, Lupin let out a dark chuckle. There was no mistaking the bitterness in his voice.

"After what _I've_ done? Ginny, you must have heard the story from Sn-, I mean, one of my colleagues by now. I damn well near killed Harry Potter. Just how I managed avoiding biting any one of them, I don't know…. I'm just so sorry I decided to come here in the first place, betray Dumbledore's' trust and put all of you at risk."

Ginny stood up, anger surging within her. She knew under ordinary circumstances, she was facing a whole week's worth of detentions. But this was not happening under ordinary circumstances, Lupin was no longer her teacher, and she most definitely was _not_ going along with this self-pitying crap. Not when the person delivering it was fantastic at _what they did_ , regardless of _what they were_.

"Professor," she said, in a voice somewhat louder than necessary for the enclosed office. "I know you're a Werewolf." Lupin sighed and leaned back his chair, spreading his hands in a despairing 'what do you know?' gesture.

"And I don't care," she added fiercely. Lupin's eyebrows shot up into his greying fringe. "You…don't?" he queried with guarded incredulity. "Ginny, do you have any idea how dangerous my kind is? There's a reason why Dumbledore arranged for a secret passageway underneath the Whomping Willow for my use only during a full moon when I was a student. There's a reason I've used the Wolfsbane Potion, and it was to keep you all safe. Last night, both those protections failed, and one of the people I could have easily killed was your brother, don't forget…"

"I know that," Ginny cut across him. If Lupin spoke another self-degrading sentence, she was going to get seriously peeved. "But in case you've forgotten, Professor, I know what it's like to be possessed by something evil and uncontrollable. It doesn't make _you_ evil." At that, Ginny remembered those comforting words from Luna, right before the Dementor showed up and forced her to confront her worst experiences, again. Lupin was now staring at her, mouth agape and clearly in shock that a student would speak back to him like that. _And he bloody well deserved it_ , she thought bitterly. But then Lupin slammed his hand down on his desk, making Ginny jump backwards in shock. His face bore a savage, almost wolfish quality as he stared back at her, breathing heavily. "I'm such a fool," he muttered.

Deciding now might be the time to de-escalate the tension for once in her life, Ginny sat back down. Seeing their now-former Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher in such a state was disconcerting to say the least.

"You knew, didn't you Professor?" she asked tentatively. "About what happened last year?" Lupin nodded, his face partially buried in his hands as he repeatedly butted his forehead against them. It then dawned on her, something that had been bothering her since her first lesson with the Boggart. For some reason, Lupin had acted as if she wasn't there, avoiding letting her face the Boggart, although she had nearly burst out sobbing at Colin's worst fear. Suffice it to say, it involved an evil version of her, and a giant, deadly reptile. At that point, Lupin raised his head to make eye-contact with her.

"Yes, I heard from Professor Dumbledore last July about the Chamber business, and what Lord Voldemort did to you." Ginny shivered at the name, as Lupin continued. "I thought how on earth a twelve-year old could cope with that, to be honest, and I knew full-well why you reacted the way you did on the train. I also think, Ginny, you know who gave you that bar of chocolate the dinner after that Boggart session?" His tone was mild, but his eyes gave away a hint of mischief. Ginny chuckled. "I have no idea," she replied wryly with a roll of her eyes. "And Professor, if I may, I prefer to think of _him_ as Tom Riddle. Takes all the fright out of his name, don't you think?" At that, Lupin whistled.

"Of course you'd know. No doubt Dumbledore decided to go into explanation overdrive, like he usually does. Well, Ginny, I'm impressed. And you think you can handle Boggarts fine, can't you?" Ginny nodded. The evening before the exam, Lupin had given her a private lesson on how to handle a truly terrifying Boggart, like one assuming the shape of Tom, for instance. She admitted that her idea of defeating the Boggart was somewhat macabre, though; it involved Riddle hissing out Parseltongue, then being eaten by his own pet. But at least it worked.

Lupin was now smiling again as he leaned forwards. "You know, you weren't the only student I privately tutored. Guess who can now perform a fantastic Patronus?" Ginny's mind flashed back to the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw game, when Harry had unleashed a full-bodied Patronus on Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy and Flint, and smirked. Malfoy had really experienced an awful year. His rich father was no longer pedaling his views with the Governors, he'd been humiliated in front of an entire Quidditch stadium while being an arse, and now his plan to cause Hagrid pain had spectacularly backfired.

"Let me guess?" she said with a grin. "Harry?" Lupin nodded.

"The one and only. That boy can also fly. I'd swear he could even out-do James. Harry's dad, and my school friend," he explained as Ginny initially looked puzzled. "But getting back to his Patronus skills, you might not know this, but I suspect he also performed one last night, while _saving himself_."

Ginny looked shocked. "But I heard over breakfast that it was massive, and powerful; it repelled a hundred Dementors! How could Harry fend them off if he and Hermione collapsed when they were around?" Now there was no denying it, Lupin was smirking.

"It's an excellent tale," he smiled, "and not one to be told by me, as I wasn't really….feeling myself at the time, if you know what I mean. Perhaps you can ask your brother, or Hermione about what happened that night?" Ginny grumbled slightly at that statement; as if her brother would let her in on the picture. And Hermione was far too involved with the pair of boys to spend much time with her; the other girl particularly seemed to particularly enjoy joking with Ron if there was a Hogsmeade day on, funnily enough…. But that was another story. Lupin was staring at her, waiting for a response. His smirk grew wider.

"Perhaps Harry then?" he suggested. Like had happened so many times before, Ginny felt her face heat up. Trying to get her ridiculous crush under control had just become more difficult, courtesy of her mind's image of a weakening Harry singlehandedly and heroically fighting off a hundred Dementors. She shook her head. For once, words failed her. "We're, sort of, well...in different social circles," she finished lamely.

"Illuminating," Lupin replied drolly. "And getting back to Patronuses, Dumbledore told me Harry's last night took the shape of a stag. James was an Animagus; he transformed into a stag, usually to keep me company out in the grounds and in my selected transformation spot when I was a Werewolf. I doubt Harry's Patronus shape is a coincidence; they seldom are."

"Wow," Ginny breathed. "And was he a legal Animagus?" Lupin chuckled.

"Absolutely not. He was unregistered, I also had other two friends who, when they found out about my condition, became unregistered Animagi to keep me company. One was Peter Pettigrew, and the…" he cut off abruptly, and a harsh look fell across his face.

"The other was Sirius Black, wasn't it?" Ginny queried. Lupin nodded.

"Yes. Back then, before he was fr-, I mean, before he betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, he was one of my best friends. Before they found out about my condition, I only had myself in the Shrieking Shack to attack, so that's what I did. The howls coming from the place made everyone in Hogsmeade believe it was haunted; that's why no-one has frequented it since." Brushing the comer of his eye, and briefly snapping out of his nostalgia, he looked at Ginny and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't want to drone on like Professor Binns." Ginny chuckled. "Believe me," she replied, "I'd rather have you as a History teacher than Professor Binns. I'm actually enjoying this, for one. Any more of what happened back then?"

Lupin cleared his throat, then continued.

"The four of us called ourselves 'The Marauders'; got into a bit of frequent trouble with the teachers, and even designed this map." He waved the mysterious bit of parchment in front of Ginny's face. "I recognize that," she blurted out. "Fred and George used it lots." Lupin nodded slowly. "Then they must have stolen it from Mr. Filch," he said. "We all forgot to steal it back on the final day of Seventh Year. Your brothers must have had a nerve. Well, anyway, we created this map, and also created nicknames for ourselves. I'm Moony, James was Prongs, because of his antlers, Sirius was Padfoot, because he turned into a dog, and Wormtail was Peter, because he was a rat. Let's just say that with our alter-egos, there's a lot of untold stories, ones that I think would be improper to tell anyone at this present time. Perhaps in the future, when circumstances have changed."

"But how did you get it back?" Ginny asked, curiosity piqued, and paying no attention to Lupin's sudden stumbling and excuse-making.

"From Harry. It turns out your enterprising brothers gave it to him, and he used it lots to sneak around. It certainly explains the reason why Mr. Malfoy got assaulted with snowballs unexpectedly while in Hogsmeade." He was trying to look stern, but the attempt was failing somewhat. "Anyway, I wasn't best pleased with Harry at the time. I thought he was taking his parents' sacrifice for granted, so I confiscated it."

"But then," Ginny began. "You must have known Harry's mum?"

"Yes I did. A loving, fierce, and incredibly stubborn young witch she was. Not unlike yourself in fact. If I'm honest with you, your outburst reminded me a little of her attitude towards me when she found out about my condition. And noting yours, Fred's and George's tendency to get detentions, I have to say you're sort of channeling us when we were your age, I suppose. Given all I've revealed about my childhood, this will make interesting conversation material with Harry in a few years, I daresay."

 _Not again_. Ginny felt like she was about to burst into flames; couldn't she just damn well get over Harry? She really needed to talk to Hermione about this, preferably sooner rather than later. "That's never going to happen, Professor," she stated firmly. "I'm not crazy over him, well, not anymore." At that Lupin laughed.

"Ginny, I know the Weasleys went to Egypt last summer. But unlike you, I don't need to go to Cairo to see denial. I've seen it before, with Lily and James, actually. God, it was torture…." He stared dreamily into the distance, chuckling to himself. But then he compose himself and leaned forward. "But that's where, I suppose, the next factor comes in. Not all students liked our ways. In fact, a certain, greasy, sallow Slytherin boy seemed determined to pick fights with James and Sirius, and both sides played dirty, no denying about it."

"Snape," Ginny groaned. "So _that's_ why he has it in for you!"

"Not quite, there's more to it than that. Anyway, one evening Severus Snape saw me being escorted by Madam Pomfrey to the Whomping Willow- it was planted to stop anyone stumbling across me while transformed at the other end of the passage- and Sirius decided to tell him how to get past the tree. He hoped I'd knock him off."

"That's horrible!" Ginny gasped. "I can see how he turned into a murderer." Noting Lupin's expression, she quickly apologised. "Sorry Professor. I know he was a friend." But Lupin waved a hand. "The thing is Ginny," he sighed unhappily, "I can't. Pete- er- Sirius certainly didn't display any back-stabbing tendencies, then. But what followed was probably James' finest moment, short of sacrificing his life for the woman and child he loved. He told Sirius what he was doing was unacceptable, and despite his revulsion towards Severus, rescued him before I could attack him. And as to why Severus let the whole school know about my condition, he was so sore he couldn't hand over Sirius to the Dementors himself last night that he took it out on me, because he believed I was helping Sirius hunt down Harry. You see, he was once close friends with Lily, and he also owed a life debt to James, so no wonder he was angry at Sirius."

By now, Ginny could barely stop trembling with fury. That slimeball had failed to get the glory and exact his own revenge, so he instead decided to turn on an easy target- Lupin- and destroy his career. "But Professor," she pleaded. "Dumbledore knows what you've done. We all know what you've done. We truly don't care you're a Werewolf, that's infinitely better than having Lockhart." But Lupin shook his head. "What's done is done," he said resignedly. "I believe I've given the job my best shot anyway, and I'm especially proud of what Harry now knows. I also am very impressed with your performance Ginny. Hopefully, we might meet again sometime." Ginny stayed where she was, rooted to the spot with all of the new information she now had about the history of Lupin, Snape, Harry's parents, and Harry himself, she reasoned. Unbidden, her vision began to blur with tears, as Lupin cleared his throat.

"It might seem cruel to you, all of this," he said. "But remember this. I'm used to these difficulties by now, and I remain optimistic about the future. I also don't think Ron, Harry and Hermione will face the tragedy we faced. We didn't start properly defying the forces of evil until we were out of school- they've already done it three times, and they're holding firm as ever. Whatever life throws at you, I have every expectation you'll shrug it off too." Ginny smiled weakly, wiping her eyes as Lupin stood up, offering his hand to shake.

"But enough of crystal ball gazing, because I'm no Professor Trelawney. Your conversation has inspired me to get some breakfast, the last one before I slip back into my old rebellious ways." Here, he gave Ginny a roguish wink, before shaking her hand. Once again, words failed Ginny as Lupin strolled over to the door. However, something then clicked in her.

"Bye, Moony," she whispered. Lupin jumped slightly as he registered the use of his old childhood nickname. He slowly turned to face her, with once again a wistful, nostalgic look appearing on his features. He appeared to be struggling for words himself, before he settled on an appropriate farewell.

"Goodbye Ginny. Take care."

And he was gone.


End file.
